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How  to  Start  a  Public  Library 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


american  Library  association 

PUBLISHING    BOARD 

LIBRARY  TRACT,  No.  a 


HOW  TO  START  A  PUBLIC 
LIBRARY 

BY 

DR.  G.  E.  WIRE 

Worcester  County  Law  Library 


PUBLISHED    FOR    THE 

American  Hibrarp  3L$£oriation 

HOUGHTON,  MIFFI..I 


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HOW  TO  START  A  PUBLIC    LIBRARY 

DB.   G.   E.   WIRE,   WORCESTER   COUNTY   LAW   LIBRARY 

FIRST,  find  out  what  public  library  legislation  is  on  your 
state  statute  books.  It  is  unwise  to  begin  on  uncertainty. 
Most  of  our  States  now  have  permissive  public  library  laws, 
and  one  at  least  has  a  mandatory  law.  The  Illinois  law  is 
cited  as  the  best  of  the  direct  tax  laws ;  Massachusetts  is 
cited  as  a  good  example  of  the  direct  grant  law.  Other 
good  laws  are  those  of  New  Jersey  for  small  cities  and 
townships,  and  that  of  Wisconsin  allowing  books  to  circu- 
late outside  the  corporate  limits  on  certain  conditions. 

The  essential  features  of  the  Illinois  public  library  law 
are  these :  Cities  are  allowed  to  levy  a  tax  of  not  to  exceed 
two  mills  on  the  dollar,  and  in  cities  of  one  hundred  thou- 
sand inhabitants  this  shall  not  exceed  one  mill  on  the  dollar ; 
directors  are  appointed  by  the  mayor  and  confirmed  by  the 
council,  with  the  usual  provision  for  overlapping  terms; 
the  directors  have  exclusive  control  of  library  funds,  of  the 
administration  of  the  library,  and  of  buying  real  estate ; 
all  persons  are  free  to  use  the  library;  directors  must  make 
an  annual  report  and  have  power  to  accept  gifts.  Villages 
have  somewhat  more  restricted  powers,  and  directors  are 
elective. 

The  Massachusetts  law  is  very  simple,  having  only  three 
sections  —  giving  authority  to  the  town  or  city  to  establish 
a  library ;  to  grant  and  vote  money  for  a  library,  and  to 
turn  over  to  such  library,  books,  reports,  and  laws  which 
have  been  received  from  the  State.  A  section  in  the  dog- 
license  law  provides  that  after  all  claims  for  losses  have 


701063 


2  HOW   TO   START  A   PUBLIC   LIBRARY 

been  settled  the  residue  is  to  go  back  to  the  towns  for 
libraries  or  schools.  Many  of  the  town  libraries  are  thus 
supported  by  the  dogs. 

It  will  readily  be  seen  that  the  Illinois  law  is  superior  in 
that  it  provides  a  direct  and  special  tax  for  the  library,  and 
in  some  cases  this  is  not  to  be  reckoned  into  the  whole 
amount  of  taxation  to  be  raised  by  the  township  or  village. 
This  amount  of  taxation  has,  however,  been  reduced  by  some 
city  boards  ;  but  on  the  whole  it  is  better  than  a  law  allow- 
ing only  a  sum  of  money  to  be  granted,  leaving  the  amount 
to  the  discretion  and  generosity  of  the  authorities.  Libra- 
ries are  being  rapidly  built  up  in  Illinois,  and  this  law  has 
been  widely  copied  in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  and  other  States 
still  further  west. 

Suppose  now  familiarity  with  the  law  to  have  been  ob- 
tained. The  next  step  is  to  AGITATE,  AGITATE,  AGITATE, 
and  keep  on  agitating. 

To  begin  at  the  beginning,  first  hold  a  meeting  of  a  few 
friends  at  some  residence  and  agree  on  what  is  wanted,  then 
start  public  meetings.  Have  some  speeches  by  home  talent, 
and  if  possible,  some  by  outsiders  on  the  benefits  of  public 
libraries.  Let  all  the  professions,  law,  medicine,  and  teach- 
ing, all  the  clergy  and  literary  men  and  women,  make  com- 
mon cause  in  the  library  interest. 

All  possible  publicity  must  be  given  the  movement.  First, 
as  to  the  press.  The  local  papers  should  all  be  enlisted  in 
the  cause  if  possible,  and  articles  setting  forth  the  advantage 
of  public  libraries  should  appear  in  their  columns.  The 
benefits  of  public  libraries,  as  supplementing  the  work  of 
the  public  schools,  should  also  be  emphasized.  Then  dodg- 
ers and  handbills  should  be  used.  This  latter  procedure, 
of  course,  is  clearly  necessary  on  the  eve  of  an  election  for 
adopting  a  library  law.  Circulars  by  mail  or  messenger 
should  also  be  employed,  bringing  home  the  matter  to  many 
people  who  may  not  be  in  touch  with  public  affairs.  Wall 
posters  might  be  used,  although  this  may  be  regarded  as  an 


HOW  TO  START  A  PUBLIC  LIBRARY  3 

extreme  measure.  Mass  meetings  addressed  by  enthusiasts 
on  the  subject  are  the  most  popular  form  of  reaching  the 
public.  Let  the  meeting  be  well  advertised  in  the  papers, 
by  dodgers  and  posters  as  well  as  by  announcements  from 
pulpits  and  elsewhere.  The  largest  hall  in  town  or  the 
largest  church  should  be  engaged,  well-lighted,  comfortable, 
with  plenty  of  good  music,  and  plenty  of  enthusiastic 
speakers.  The  speeches  should  be  short,  interspersed  with 
music.  Another  plan  is  to  have  some  eminent  library  spe- 
cialist address  the  meeting  at  some  length.  Different  meth- 
ods reach  different  constituencies.  Library  sermons  may 
be  used  with  effect.  Many  good  people  may  be  reached  in 
this  way  who  might  not  be  reached  in  others.  A  library 
fair  will  not  only  attract  much  attention  to  the  library 
which  is  to  be,  but  also  will  gain  some  money  for  it.  In 
tjie  close  work  of  a  campaign,  a  house-to-house  canvass  may 
be  necessary.  This  should  be  done  thoroughly  by  tactful 
persons,  otherwise  more  harm  than  good  will  result.  The 
men's  clubs  and  the  women's  clubs  should  also  be  enlisted  in 
the  propaganda.  Different  methods  will  apply  to  them,  but 
they  should  all  take  a  hand  in  the  work.  The  men's  clubs 
represent  the  wealth  and  influence,  social  and  political,  of 
the  community ;  the  women's  clubs  represent  society  and 
the  social  element.  Both  are  valuable  allies  in  the  work  of 
agitation.  Indeed,  the  women's  clubs  in  many  parts  of  the 
country  are  of  the  greatest  aid  in  this  work,  for  they  have 
constant  need  of  a  public  library  for  reference  purposes. 
They  make  good  advocates  and  good  canvassers  for  the 
cause. 

Local  pride  and  emulation  also  help  wonderfully,  as  in 
cases  where  a  neighboring  town  has  a  useful  and  well  man- 
aged public  library.  « 

All  of  these  forces  must  pull  together  and  keep  at  it,  in 
order  to  create  a  sentiment  for  a  public  library,  and  in 
some  cases  this  must  continue  for  months  and  even  years. 
Apathy  of  the  most  lamentable  kind  frequently  prevails, 


4  BOW   TO  START  A  PUBLIC  LIBRARY 

and  all  sorts  of  arguments  are  used  to  bolster  up  the  op- 
position. The  expense,  the  additional  taxation,  is  of  course 
one  of  the  first  objections  to  be  met.  The  individual  ex- 
pense is  rarely  figured  out ;  but  when  it  is  it  will  be  found 
to  be  so  low  as  to  make  objection  on  this  ground  untenable. 
Five  thousand  dollars  a  year  among  twenty  thousand  people 
is  certainly  not  burdensome.  The  most  opposition  of  this 
nature  will  be  met  in  places  having  a  large  foreign  popu- 
lation, or  from  rich  people  who  don't  want  their  taxes  in- 
creased, don't  want  books,  and  don't  want  others  to  have 
them. 

Another  argument  urged  against  the  public  library  is 
the  amount  of  fiction  in  the  library  and  the  number  of 
novels  that  will  be  read.  This  argument  has  sometimes 
been  used  in  a  most  unjustifiable  manner.  The  proportion 
of  fiction,  adult  and  juvenile,  in  a  library  varies  from  fif- 
teen to  twenty-five  per  cent.,  —  it  is  generally  about  twenty 
per  cent.,  —  but  the  percentage  of  the  reading  of  fiction  is 
from  sixty  to  eighty  per  cent.,  the  average  being  seventy-five 
per  cent.  These  figures  have  been  used  and  abused  to  imply 
that  seventy-five  per  cent,  of  the  volumes  in  a  library  are 
fiction.  Good,  clean,  healthy  fiction  never  hurts  any  one, 
and  is  much  to  be  preferred  to  no  reading  at  all.  Libraries 
now  aim  to  keep  none  but  the  best,  and  by  personal  effort 
manage  to  diminish  not  a  little  the  proportion  of  fiction 
read. 

Perhaps  the  weakest  argument,  nevertheless  one  often 
brought  forward,  is  that  the  library  will  form  a  convenient 
meeting  place  for  people,  meaning  women  who  go  shopping, 
and  others  who  do  not  come  to  read.  This  hardly  needs  an 
answer.  Only  a  few  of  the  advantages  of  a  public  library 
are  noted  in  this  paper,  as  these  have  been  treated  more 
fully  in  the  first  number  of  this  series.  Some  of  the  argu- 
ments against  a  public  library  have  been  given,  however, 
and  the  attempt  made  to  show  where  some  of  the  opposi- 
tion will  come  from,  as  this  is  varied  and  many  times 


HOW   TO   START  A  PUBLIC  LIBRARY  5 

unlocked  for.  Some  people  oppose  every  new  thing  on 
general  principles. 

Having  treated  the  case  where  there  is  a  public  library 
law,  let  us  now  pass  to  the  case  where  there  is  no  public 
library  law  on  the  statute  books. 

Here  two  lines  of  action  are  possible ;  first,  to  get  an 
act  passed,  and  second,  to  work  for  a  free  public  library 
without  a  special  act. 

It  is  advisable  generally  to  begin  a  public  library  under 
existing  laws,  either  subscription  library  laws,  or  general  cor- 
poration laws,  or  association  laws.  These  are  found  in  every 
State.  Even  a  subscription  library  may  be  run  as  a  public 
library,  and,  in  fact,  many  are  so  conducted  so  far  as  read- 
ing-room and  reference  use  are  concerned.  Still  another 
and  better  plan,  much  to  be  preferred  if  possible,  is  to  have 
a  free  public  library  supported  by  subscriptions  and  gifts, 
and  free  to  the  public.  Such  was  the  beginning  of  the 
New  York  (City)  Free  Circulating  Library. 

Some  definite  action  should  be  taken  along  one  of  these 
various  lines ;  for  in  any  enterprise  the  best  way  to  start  is 
to  start,  and  not  only  to  talk  about  it. 

In  any  of  these  cases  there  must  be  an  organization,  — 
due  care  being  taken  to  conform  to  the  law  under  which 
action  is  taken.  A  constitution  and  by-laws  are  needed, 
providing  for  the  purpose  of  the  association,  its  name,  and 
its  officers.  Regarding  the  latter,  provision  should  be  made 
for  their  election,  with  their  terms  of  office,  duties,  power 
to  receive,  hold,  and  dispose  of  all  property  real  and  per- 
sonal, the  engagement  of  employees,  and  responsibility  for 
reports  and  auditing,  debts  and  dues.  Great  care  must  be 
exercised  to  keep  always  in  mind  the  non-mercantile  as- 
pect of  the  work,  to  spend  no  money  on  buildings,  lectures, 
pictures,  or  museums,  but  to  devote  all  energies  to  building 
up  the  library  and  to  doing  library  work  in  its  different 
ramifications.  This  is  all  only  a  preparatory  step  toward 
having  a  free  public  library  supported  by  the  people,  of  the 
people,  for  the  people. 


6  HOW  TO  START  A  PUBLIC  LIBRARY 

Be  as  liberal  as  possible  with  all  the  library  advantages 
and  so  gain  friends  among  the  taxpayers,  looking  toward  a 
time  when  the  institution  shall  be  the  people's  library. 
Avoid  all  rings,  cliques,  and  combinations,  as  tending  to 
belittle  the  library  and  as  foreign  to  its  spirit. 

Having  made  this  start,  attention  should  be  turned  to  the 
legislative  side  of  the  question.  Collect  and  study  library 
laws,  keeping  in  mind  local  needs  as  a  State,  and  also  the 
sentiment  of  the  people.  In  New  England,  for  example, 
there  is  a  stanch  home  feeling,  a  self-government  bias, 
which  differs  from  the  tendency  toward  paternalism  found 
in  some  of  the  newer  States. 

As  a  basis  the  Illinois  law  may  be  recommended  as  better 
and  fairer  all  around  than  the  New  England  appropriation 
laws,  or  the  New  York  State  subsidy  law. 

Having  settled  on  the  main  features  of  the  law  desired, 
enlist  your  own  assemblymen  and  senators  in  the  work, 
and  when  the  legislature  is  in  session  the  library  workers 
should  send  on  their  best  lobbyists  and  stay  with  the  bill 
until  it  becomes  a  law  or  is  defeated.  It  may  be  necessary 
to  "  trim  "  somewhat,  in  order  to  get  the  bill  through, 
but  the  main  purpose  of  the  law  should  be  guarded  and 
there  should  be  as  little  tampering  as  possible.  The  most 
vulnerable  points  will  be  the  amount  of  tax,  how  levied 
and  collected,  and  the  appointment  of  boards .  of  direct- 
ors and  their  powers.  Fortunately  in  all  but  a  few  of  our 
States  politics  cut  little  or  no  figure  in  the  management  of 
the  public  library.  It  is  not  considered  a  place  for  the 
spoilsman,  and  although  there  would  seem  to  be  some  pat- 
ronage connected  with  the  positions,  they  are  usually  not 
so  lucrative  as  to  affect  even  the  librarianship,  let  alone  the 
assistants.  On  this  account,  and  also  because  as  a  class 
librarians  attend  strictly  to  their  business  and  let  politics 
alone,  our  libraries  are  almost  sui  generis  in  matters  of 
politics. 

So  much  for  starting  a  public  library  under  public  library 


HOW  TO  START  A  PUBLIC  LIBRARY  7 

laws  or  other  laws,  and  for  securing  a  public  library  law  where 
none  existed  before.  Now  to  some  general  problems  occur- 
ring in  any  or  all  of  the  subjects  treated.  Remember,  this 
is  genuine  missionary  work.  Some  of  it  will  be  unappre- 
ciated, some  of  it  will  be  opposed,  methods  are  likely  to  be 
criticised  and  motives  maligned.  If  one  is  sensitive  either 
to  blame,  criticism,  or  neglect,  one  would  better  retire  and 
give  place  to  a  stronger  and  safer  leader.  Until  you 
undertake  something  of  this  kind  and  are  brought  into 
contact  not  only  with  the  classes  but  the  masses,  you  will 
not  know  of  how  complex  a  body  politic  you  are  a  member. 

Always  keep  in  mind  that  the  library  when  it  comes 
must  be  free  to  all,  and  that  sooner  or  later  it  must  pass 
out  of  the  hands  of  those  who  have  in  the  first  instance 
made  it  possible  and  have  carefully  nurtured  it  in  its  in- 
fancy, and  that  eventually  it  must  be  carried  on  by  other 
brains  and  other  hands.  Therefore  the  policy  chosen  should 
be  broad  and  generous  and  noble,  The  masses  as  well  as 
the  classes  are  to  use  the  library,  and  the  former  outnumber 
and  outvote  the  latter.  In  saying  this,  there  is  no  thought 
of  advising  any  lowering  of  tone,  any  pandering  to  bad 
taste.  But  the  policy  adopted  should  be  neither  aristo- 
cratic nor  exclusive.  Great  care  should  be  taken  in  the 
selection  of  the  members  of  the  board  :  no  sects,  no  creeds, 
no  fads  sho.uld  be  allowed  undue  influence. 

It  will  be  a  surprise  some  time  to  note  the  growth  of  the 
worker's  own  ideas  through  this  work.  This  can,  perhaps, 
be  best  explained  by  an  illustration.  In  one  library  the 
book  committee  of  the  trustees  objected  to  the  purchase  of 
some  free-trade  books  for  the  library.  They  were  all  pro- 
tectionists, had  no  use  for  such  works,  and  regarded  the 
library  as  their  private  collection.  They  were  told  by  the 
librarian  that  this  was  a  public  library,  and  both  sides  of 
a  controversy  must  be  fully  represented.  This  was  an 
entirely  new  thought  to  them.  The  library  is  no  place  for 
propaganda,  no  place  for  narrow  and  one-sided  work.  This 


8  HOW  TO   START  A  PUBLIC  LIBRARY 

breadth  of  view  should  be  shown  in  the  organization  of 
committees,  and  great  pains  should  be  taken  to  harmonize 
all  the  various  conflicting  elements  which  will  have  to  be 
enrolled  in  order  to  enlist  all  the  different  interests  of  the 
place.  As  a  rule  more  care  must  be  taken  in  the  first 
stages  of  development  than  is  necessary  even  in  the  forma- 
tion of  the  first  board  of  directors  or  trustees,  for  this  rea- 
son :  that  after  a  thing  is  started  it  gains  momentum  as  it 
goes  along  and  stands  a  certain  amount  of  adversity  and 
bad  management  without  disastrous  results,  whereas  in  its 
inchoate  state,  as  an  idea,  care  must  be  taken  to  keep  the 
germ  alive  until  its  appearance  in  concrete  form.  So  all 
discretion,  forbearance,  and  tact  should  be  exercised  by  the 
promoters  if  they  wish  to  succeed  with  the  public.  In  the 
selection  of  members  of  the  library  board,  besides  allying 
all  factions  and  representing  all  the  various  interests,  it  is 
an  essential  that  live  men  and  women  should  be  chosen. 
What  are  needed  are  some  intelligent,  keen,  business  men, 
some  women  to  look  after  their  part  of  the  work,  and  one 
or  two  well-rounded  literary  men.  Let  there  be  also  a  fair 
representation  of  the  young  and  progressive  members  of 
the  community,  and  be  chary  of  selecting  so-called  "  schol- 
ars," who  too  often  are  men  of  one  subject. 

The  librarian  should  be  chosen  soon  after  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  trustees.  In  the  growth  of  the  library  move- 
ment, he  has  become  better  equipped  than  in  the  earlier 
days,  and  it  is  altogether  the  safest  and  best  plan  to  let  him 
do  most  of  the  book  selection.  Time  was  when  the  direct- 
ors of  the  small  library  did  all  the  book  buying,  the  libra- 
rian not  being  accounted  able  to  suggest  reading  for  the 
public.  But  the  librarian  nowadays  is  generally  equipped 
for  all  parts  of  his  work,  is  in  constant  touch  with  the  pub- 
lic, and  it  is  his  business  to  know  what  people  are  reading, 
what  they  want,  and  what  books  are  coming  out.  He  alone 
can  keep  the  library  well-rounded.  Let  me  give  an  instance 
from  my  own  observation :  A  library  of  twenty  years' 


HOW   TO  START  A  PUBLIC  LIBRARY  9 

growth  of  about  twenty  thousand  volumes  had  been  built 
up,  largely  by  one  man's  selection.  He  had  spent  much 
time  and  thought  on  the  buying  of  books,  and  when  the 
opportunity  came  to  reorganize  it  and  classify  it,  I  was  more 
and  more  impressed  with  the  excellent  character  of  the 
library.  I  count  it  the  best  library  of  its  size  that  I  know. 
And  yet  that  library  had  not  a  single  book  on  these  sub- 
jects :  trained  nursing,  cooking,  dressmaking,  bicycle  re- 
pairing, stenography,  oil  and  gas  engines,  or  boat  building. 
It  needed  a  librarian's  eye  to  see  just  these  defects  and 
to  remedy  them.  So  there  is  less  need  than  formerly  of 
having  a  board  of  "  literary  "  people.  The  library  of  to- 
day is  a  vital  institution,  quick  to  respond  to  the  varied 
needs  of  its  constituency,  and  the  governing  body  should 
be  alert,  far-seeing,  looking  not  to  the  past  with  its  tradi- 
tions, not  alone  to  the  present  with  its  needs,  but  far  into 
th'e  future  to  its  possibilities. 

Care  should  be  taken  in  choosing  the  model  on  which  the 
library  is  to  be  developed.  Do  not  go  to  the  largest  public 
library  for  advice  and  blanks  and  forms,  for  few  libraries 
of  even  one  hundred  thousand  volumes  are  fit  models  for  a 
small  library.  Go  to  some  place  of  nearly  equal  size  which 
possesses  a  new  library  building,  new  collections  of  books, 
and  the  new  library  atmosphere.  Having  studied  that 
thoroughly,  go  to  another  one,  always  carefully  remember- 
ing local  conditions  and  local  needs,  the  limitation  of  the 
building  by  its  surroundings  or  the  wishes  of  the  giver, 
always  noting  the  fact  that  no  two  collections  of  books 
designed  for  different  communities  should  be  exactly  alike. 

Be  not  building-crazy.  Let  the  library  grow  and  develop 
first  and  see  what  you  need.  Do  not  for  a  moment  think 
of  putting  all  the  money  into  a  building  and  none  into  books 
or  maintenance,  thus  at  the  outset  defeating  the  purpose  of 
the  library. 

Regarding  rules  and  regulations :  have  as  few  as  possi- 
ble and  make  those  as  inconspicuous  as  possible.  There  is 


10  HOW   TO   START  A   PUBLIC  LIBRARY 

no  reason  why  the  library  should  rival  the  county  jail  in 
this  respect.  Here  again  there  should  be  special  care 
regarding  the  models  chosen.  I  know  one  library  whose 
directors  went  to  a  library  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand volumes  in  a  large  city,  and  adopted  the  guarantor's 
blank  there  in  use,  —  as  long,  legal,  and  involved  as  a  chat- 
tel mortgage.  All  the  matter  necessary  can  be  put  on  the 
back  of  a  business  card,  and  in  some  libraries  .even  this  is 
being  done  away  with,  and  a  simple  reference  required  in- 
stead. Remember  that  library  attendance  is  not  compul- 
sory ;  people  should  be  encouraged  and  invited  to  come 
to  the  library,  not  driven  away  by  rules,  regulations,  and 
red  tape. 

It  may  be  well  here  to  note  a  few  of  the  lines  of  modern 
library  work,  even  though  this  may  entail  a  certain  amount 
of  repetition.  These  lines  include  circulating,  reference, 
school,  and  club  work,  and  work  for  children.  These  may 
all  be  carried  on  in  one  small  room,  but  as  they  develop 
there  should  be  at  least  three  separate  rooms  or  places 
overlooked  from  a  central  point.  We  are  coming  more 
and  more  to  the  adoption  of  free  access  to  shelves.  By 
this  is  meant  letting  people  select  their  own  books  at  the 
shelves,  taking  them  to  the  desk  to  be  charged.  All  of 
these  details,  as  well  as  those  of  location,  accessibility,  quiet, 
light,  air,  building,  rooms,  book  selection,  book  buying,  cat- 
aloguing, classification,  charging  systems,  shelving,  light- 
ing, heating  and  ventilation,  selection  of  assistants,  care 
and  repairs  of  building,  rules  and  regulations,  will  be  more 
fully  considered  under  the  topic  Organization  of  a  Library, 
which  properly  comes  after  this  work  of  starting  a  library. 
For  that  reason  none  of  these  have  been  considered  in 
detail. 

But  above  all  and  beyond  all  should  the  workers  in  this 
cause  absorb  the  library  spirit,  the  missionary  spirit.  They 
should  attend  library  meetings  of  their  own  State,  by  all 
means ;  they  should  attend  the  meetings  of  the  American 


HOW  TO  START  A  PUBLIC  LIBRARY  11 

Library  Association  if  these  are  held  reasonably  near,  and 
they  should  visit  as  many  libraries  as  they  can.  When  on 
the  latter  errand,  they  should  not  go  to  see  the  books,  the 
building,  or  the  catalogue  alone  ;  but  to  see  how  the  library 
is  conducted,  to  meet  the  librarian,  and  see  the  librarian 
meet  the  people.  They  should  study  the  work  in  all  its 
many  branches  and  see  how  these  are  all  inter-related,  how 
they  all  work  together  for  the  upbuilding  of  a  community. 
There  will  be  surprises  in  many  directions.  Much  work 
can  be  done  on  small  capital  by  a  tactful,  bright,  enthusi- 
astic worker,  and  such  workers  are  most  often  women. 
The  high  position  which  the  small  public  library  of  to-day 
holds  in  the  minds  of  the  people  is  due  largely  to  the 
woman's  work  put  into  the  library.  No  amount  of  money, 
no  fine  building,  no  large  collection  of  books  can  make  up 
for  the  deficiency  of  a  living,  working  brain  and  heart.  So 
in  all  studying  and  planning  this  should  be  always  borne  in 
mind.  The  mission  of  the  public  library  is  largely  to  that 
ninety  'per  cent  of  the  people  whose  formal  education  ends 
with  the  grammar  school,  and  the  great  question  now  in  the 
minds  of  all  librarians  is  how  to  reach  and  help  these  peo- 
ple. This  is  the  present  mission  of  the  public  library  in 
the  United  States,  especially  in  small  places  and  in  manu- 
facturing centres.  As  a  rule,  the  public  library  does  not 
make  a  special  effort  to  help  the  learned,  for  in  many 
cities  there  are  public,  endowed  reference  libraries  for  this 
special  purpose,  but  it  does  bend  every  energy  toward  help- 
ing those  who  need  help  most. 

Bear  this  always  in  mind  in  preparatory  work,  and  again 
and  more  particularly  when  the  work  of  actual  organiza- 
tion begins.  It  is  emphatically  the  greatest  good  for  the 
greatest  number  that  is  desired,  and  no  building  should  be 
too  fine,  no  collection  of  books  too  costly,  to  be  above  or 
beyond  this  aim,  nor  should  any  set  of  rules,  red  tape,  or 
rigid  regulations  interfere  with  this  development.  The 
library  should  be  for  the  people,  and  they  should  be  first 


12  HOW  TO  START  A  PUBLIC  LIBRARY 

considered  in  its  work.  It  is  required,  therefore,  to  be 
diligent  in  doing,  liberal  in  policy,  far-seeing  in  plans  both 
for  present  and  future,  that  in  no  way  should  the  benefit  of 
the  work  be  lost  to  any  one,  nor  the  true  purpose  of  the 
library  be  defeated. 


List  of  French  fiction  by  Mme  Sophie  Cornu  and 
'iiam  Beer.     Paper,  5  ce; 

-t  of  selected  German  bo  cents. 

List  of  Hungarian  books.     1  •" 

Card  Publications 

1  Catalog  cards  for  current  periodical  publications. 

og  cards  for  various 
for  books  of  composite  auth 

3  Catalog  cards  for  current  bo  and 

-rican  History,  with  annotati 

4  Catalog  cards  for  current  bibliographical  publica- 
tic 

For  detailed  information  regarding  card  publications 
apply  directly  to  the  Publishing  Board,  34  Newbury  St., 
Boston,  Mass. 

Library  Tracts 

2  How  to  start  a  public  library,  by  Dr  G.  E.  Wire. 

3  Traveling  libraries.  A.  Hutchins. 

4  Library  rooms  and  buildings,  by  C.  C.  Soule. 

s  from  the  art  section  of  a  library,  by  C.  A. 
Cutter. 
8   A  village  library,  by  Mary  Anna  Tar  bell. 

Paper,  each,  5  cents.     Special  reduced  prices  when 
ordered  in  lots  of  50  or  more, 
raining  for  librarianship. 

•ampaign  material,  b;, 

Library  Handbooks 

1  Essentials    in    library   administration,   by    L.    E. 
Ste; 

2  Cataloging  for  small  li  .  by  Theresa  Hitchler. 
Papor,  each,  15  cents.    $5.00  per  100. 

3  Management   of   traveling   libraries,  by  Edna  D. 
Bullock.  Paper,  each,  15  cents. 


THE  LIBRARY 

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